Objective: Many contemporary designs solely prioritize the therapeutic function of footwear, neglecting other crucial social and environmental considerations. The study aimed to explore challenges to therapeutic footwear usage for foot ulcer prevention.
Methods: A qualitative critical ethnography design was used in this study. Fourteen participants were recruited at the local hospital in Baise City, China. Data were collected through in-depth interview. A thematic analysis approach was conducted for data analyzing.
Results: This study identified two themes: (1) workplace and physical condition, (2) diverse cultural practice. It was worth noting that slipper as a convenient and cheap wearing choice, decreased the usage of therapeutic footwear. The emerging activity of modern square dancing resulted in more requirements for its design. And the symbolic meaning of hard working in barefoot was also challengeable to therapeutic footwear utilization to some extent.
Conclusions: Therapeutic footwear intervention design should not only focus on the therapeutic functionality, but also consider about individuals' demands towards working environment and physical status, and particular insights regarding culture and social background. We expected these findings could be evidence for improving therapeutic footwear usage in the future.
Keywords: Diabetes; Diabetic foot ulcer; Prevention; Therapeutic footwear.
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